Hermitage

For most of my life, I've heard about the wonders of the Hermitage, and it did not disappoint. Just the sheer number of paintings you've likely seen in reproduction and the vast number of Matisses and Gaugins is enough to blow you away. Add in a Versaille-like palace, and the experience was marred only by dragging an unappreciative five-year-old along for the ride. I feel like I could spend an entire week there, just admiring the art and architecture of the place. As Larry said, you sometime forget how art has the ability to really move you. I was moved.

I have longed loved Gaugin (we had a big one in our living room growing up), but there are so few examples of his work, that I've mostly relied on books and slides to look at them. I lost count at ten major works. Many of his works before he left for Tahiti were there as well. I just could not get over how fresh the images look, even 100 years later. The Matisse room was eye-popping as well, but there was something about being in the presence of so many Gaugins that I kept pinching myself. It's a hoot.

St. Petersburg trip

All I can say is "wow" what a fantastic city - like a mix of Paris and Stockholm/Helsinki. So beautiful, so compact, especially compared with Moscow. I can see why people come from all around the world to see and experience this wonderful place. When Peter the Great made it the capital of Russia, he dragged it into the Western world and it shows with its luscious beaux arts architecture and the over-the-top gilding on everything from the Hermitage gates to the fabulous domes of the churches.

Happy Pancake (Blini) Week

Sasha on the Metro Escalator

Lenin in the Metro

Cosmonaut Monument
Larry solo blogging today:

Moscow went back to work today, after a three-day weekend for
Defenders of the Fatherland holiday. It is also now Pancake Week, a
pre-Lenten celebration, which apparently focuses on pancakes because
they look like the sun. Pancake Week also celebrates the impending
arrival of spring, although we've heard it's a ways off.

We took Sasha today to an American doctor to make sure her broken left
wrist had healed. It had, and we're relieved. Insurance didn't cover
it, but the visit was $33. Gotta love that.

On our way back to the subway, we had time to visit a city park that
is full of ice sculptures. Today it was maybe 17 degrees Fahrenheit,
so the sculptures are doing fine.
There were a variety of sculptures, including an Eiffel Tower, a bear
hugging a tree, a nd a couple dancing a ballet. We forgot our camera,
so no pictures.

We finally made it to the famed Ukrainian restaurant chain, Yolki
Palki, for lunch. It was excellent, and we'd return. It was the kind
of comfort food both our grandmothers used to make, along with such
things as cole slaw made from beets, and the ubiquitous cucumber and
tomato salad.

We next took the subway to Mega Mall, on the southern outskirts of
Moscow, home to an Ikea, a Finnish department store, and Auchon, a
French supermarket that reminded us of Costco meets Wal-Mart meets
Target. We had never seen so much merchandise in Russia before.H

A Surprising Day at the Circus

This is what we saw at the Nikulin Circus (a famous Moscow circus) this afternoon: a performer dressed as a rabbi with payes (curls) performing a wedding of two monkeys (or maybe chimpanzees.) The groom wore a yarmulke, and the bride was in a wedding dress, as the two animals stood under a chuppah. There was also a maid of honor. Four human handlers in modern dress and yarmulkes were involved as well, holding the animals on leashes. At the end of the "ceremony," one of the handlers put a glass in a napkin and stomped on it, like a traditional Jewish wedding. The crowd enjoyed it. We sat in stunned silence.
At some point, a cart full of shiny gifts in wrapping paper showed up. The monkeys/chimps eventually changed costumes. One monkey/chimp changed into a stereotypical Mexican costumes, including a sombrero, and another monkey/chimp changed into a flashy jumpsuit, a la Elvis. We would post pictures, but no photography was allowed.
Later, I learned from the web that the original founder of this circus in 1880 was Jewish.
Other parts of the circus included performers in native Russian costumes, although none of them got married.
Otherwise, it was an amazing circus, of acrobats, gymnasts, horses and trapeeze artists. But the portion involving the monkeys/chimps was unsettling and in bad taste.

SUNSHINE for a change

We hadn't seen the sun since London, and were beginning to wonder if we ever would.
Then today, the snow stopped and we took out our sunglasses and went for a long walk down the Prospekt Mira, our street. We also finally made it to the Starlight Diner, which we hadn't been able to locate in a snowstorm earlier in the week. We didn't score any playdates for Sasha, but we enjoyed it. But not to get too cocky: we then tried to buy train tickets for St. Petersburg for next week. Despite being at the train station, it didn't happen. Agents told us to go to other buildings, other ticket windows, and up a flight of stairs, all to no avail. Sasha, meanwhile, staged several sitdown strikes.
In other news, Sasha managed to get a 5-ruble coin stuck in the soft cast of her broken wrist. And we managed to get it out. Her cast is due to come off on Monday.
--Larry

If it's Tuesday, it must be Moscow

A Joint Communique: We're gearing up for the cold front moving in on Thursday. It's supposed to drop into the low digits, negative territory, that kind of thing...In the spirit of Herb Caen, we're doing short news flashes today...We got lost again, this time walking to a potential school for Sasha...We found out that perogies are one thing, and pilenyi are another. In other food news, you can get a mean roasted chicken here from a streetside stand for $4...Uzbecki bread rocks...Monday, we went to visit a friend at the U.S. Embassy compound. We got lost going there, too. In other food news, we stocked up on Teddy Grahams, Honey Nut Cheerios and Annie's Organics at the embassy store. Sasha managed to charm the ambassador's wife in conversation in the checkout line, discussing the merits of the American educational system or something like that...Speaking of getting lost, we successfully navigated the metro for a fourth straight day...Larry got invited to speak at a law school on Friday on libel and invasion of privacy.

Lost in a snowstorm: where is the Starlight Diner?

Being in Moscow, one expects a lot of snow and cold. But yesterday, we were thwarted by the amount of snow - it was so snowy and cold that we had to abandon our plans to go to the Starlight Diner, an American hang out that was just outside of the Oktobryskaya metro. Only problem was that the metro emptied out onto a star shaped, Stalin statued, plaza. In other words: five possible directions, blinding snow, crying kid. Abandon ship!

I was disappointed that we wouldn't have a chance to meet other families and possibly score a few playdates for Sasha. Sasha, by the way was caught twice in the savage metro turnstiles. She now says "if you don't pay mommy, they crush you in the subway." A wry observation from a five year old, but considering the turnstiles did first hit her legs and then her good arm (!) what do you expect? Did I mention that we were yelled out by an angry babaschk? But she's now jumping on the escalator and onto the trains like an old pro. Two steps forward, one step back...

Yep, we're really in Moscow

Larry here:

I'm amazed at how well I'm getting around here knowing so little Russian. I have shopped at the supermarket with a credit card, and have taken money out of our online account. I rode the Metro several times alone. When someone talks to me, I usually blurt out a stock Russian phrase like "please" or "thank you" that is inappropriate to the situation, or I just nod. Later the right phrase (ya niz nao,"which means "I don't know") comes to me. When I was the last one onto the metro car yesterday and my coat was stuck in the door for the ride to the next stop, a woman appeared to have some wry comment about it that I couldn't share in. Oh well. The coat is fine.
We are across the street from a great park, with huge monuments, and beyond that is a monorail line. We have just begun to explore it. From our window we see several high monuments there, including one of a spaceship heading into the heavens. We also see a ferris wheel from our window, which is said to be the third highest in the world, or the highest in Russia, or the world, depending on who you ask. Next door at the French owned hotel, Kosmos, is a 25 foot high statue of General De Gaulle, bien sur. When it snows, le president has snow on his shoulders.

Moscow Shuffle

Alison

Snow again last night, no biggie. I awoke to the snow plows doing finish work on the sidewalks. Yesterday at the cosmonaut exhibit, I saw about a dozen men with pick axes manually breaking up the ice on the sidewalk. What a contrast: manual laborers vs. the impressive snow clearing machines. We are learning to skate across the icy sidewalks - Sasha likes to lick icicles. I remember doing that as a kid. To my amazement, we have an ice skating rink in the backyard of our apartment. I appears to double as a basketball court in summer, unless they play ice basketball here, which wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Today we are off to Red Square, with an American family who have been here a month. They seem way ahead of us in knowing what to do in this place. I fear we will meet “zero” Russian families as there are so may ex-pats to play with. And our Russian frankly stinks.

Shopping still a big issue - I saw bottle of Mr. Clean and it was called Mr. Proper. Everything is tiny, tiny and mysterious. At least I know now Russian for milk, eggs, cheese, bread and pickels.

Have conquered the tiny Euro washer and dryer, wifi up and working. Life is good.

Visit to the Food Stalls

We finally have WiFi up and working – it took three visits from various technicians, but they got it working, hurray. Right now, I am listening to our San Francisco public radio station on the web. Nice to hear what's going on back in California. We miss the morning newspaper, but our view is so intriguing that we went for walk to the cosmonaut monument where we encountered the huge statues of all the famous cosmonauts and even recognized a few ones through our halting Cyrillic.

With the help of our babysitter Marina, I went to buy proper snowboots for Sasha, who is doing a lot of complaining about walking too far. I think she misses the California car lifestyle. Marina took us to a clothing and food hall near VDNk, the old Soviet-style monument, complete with heroic comrades holding their sheeves (sp?) of wheat. What beautiful, fresh foods. So different than the dreary local stores I've been shopping in. Piles of homemade sausages, gorgeous cheeses, barrels of pickeled vegies including carrots, onions, garlic. Sasha got to try various cheese until she found one she liked – no mozzarela at this cheese shop.

Day one in the Russian capital

Day one in the Russian capital

I awoke, hot and sweaty and disoriented, but marveling at the snow and the metropolis. We went to register with the local authorities today and had quite a ride on the famous Moscow metro. In my bleary state, I was able to go downstairs to Magnolia where dour Soviet style cashiers offer no help in picking out breakfast for the family.

The language barrier is huge – I know very few words (wish I had gotten that vocab up to 200 words instead of a meager 100), but I smile a lot and know how to say “I understand a little” and “do you speak English, p'jalasta?”

Larry's turn:
Moscow reminds me of London, but one that is clad in fur. I have never seen so many fur coats in my life. Winter weather and all its trappings were making a big impression on this California native today, as we walked through slushy streets and were amazed at how many people were outside. We were out
to get to the metro and then to the university. The metro was fast and efficient, and we mastered it quickly. Like London, the metro is deep in the underground.
We arrived last night to snow. As we drove through the city from the airport, I was amazed at how many signs I could read in Russian. We are at home in many ways already, thanks in part to having rented a furnished apartment. We are overlooking a busy street, the Prospekt Mira, but thanks to triple-paned windows we hear very little traffic noise. The only time we notice it the street
is when a siren goes by. Otherwise, it is as quiet here as our home in Mountain View.

Six days and counting

Today is our last Sunday and California and what a send off! The weather is 71 balmy degrees under a cerulean blue sky. The trees have buds and flowers and we are headed to the artic chill of Russia winter. This will be my first year with two springs.

We are being feted by our friends as part of the big send off. A cupcake and milk party will send Sasha off in style.